Introduction
Office of MinorityBroadband Initiatives
Economic progress in the United States relies on all communities having access to affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet. However, with the advancement of digital technologies, evidence shows a significant digital divide. The divide expands as the public grapples with accessing affordable and dependable Internet services, obtaining devices, and constantly adapting to use the Internet and computers for an array of tasks. This lack of access, use, and digital skills prevents these communities from achieving their social and economic potential.
In a June 26, 2023, White House Briefing, the Biden-Harris Administration announced:
“High-speed Internet is no longer a luxury – it is necessary for Americans to do their jobs, to participate equally in school, access health care, and to stay connected with family and friends. Yet, more than 8.5 million households and small businesses are in areas where there is no high-speed Internet infrastructure, and millions more struggle with limited or unreliable Internet options. Just like Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Rural Electrification Act brought electricity to nearly every home and farm in America, President Biden and Vice President Harris are delivering on their historic commitment to connect everyone in America to reliable, affordable high-speed Internet by the end of the decade.”
Strategies to expand access to the Internet require multiple stakeholders to work together to provide Internet services, devices and training and digital navigation. To address these barriers, the Internet for All initiative is investing over $65 billion toward the goal of connecting every American to affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet. Four agencies are delivering programs to achieve this goal: NTIA, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Agriculture.
Through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA 2021), the Assistant Secretary established within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives (OMBI) in August 2021 to improve America’s economic competitiveness and create the conditions for economic growth and opportunity for all communities.
The CAA 2021 directs the Office to lead NTIA’s engagement with stakeholders to expand access to the Internet in certain anchor communities nationwide. The approach centers on the Office to collaborate with stakeholders in federal, state, local, and Tribal governments; HBCUs, TCUs, MSIs; and stakeholders in the communications, education, business, and technology fields. OMBI is part of NTIA’s coordinated efforts with the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act (IIJA) including the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, the Digital Equity Act (DE) Programs, and the Middle Mile Grant Programs, to connect all Americans to high-speed, affordable, and reliable Internet.
The Office’s strategy focuses on HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs as anchor institutions. Recently, with the advent and growth of broadband, the promise of the economic potential of broadband has been connected to anchor institutions in general and higher education anchors in particular. According to William Lehr, in his 2012 article Anchor Institutions Help Secure Broadband’s Promise, “ensuring access to broadband by anchor institutions is critically important for enabling anchor institutions to achieve their mission goals and will help realize the benefits of broadband for our economy and society and for meeting the public obligation to provide universal access to broadband” (p. 1-2).
Anchor institutions are deeply rooted in their communities and are primed to serve as catalysts for the expansion of broadband access in their local communities. The current and future health of America’s 21st Century Economy depends directly on how broadly and deeply Americans reach a new level of literacy — 21st Century Literacy — that includes strong academic skills, thinking, reasoning, teamwork skills, and proficiency in using technology (21st Century Workforce Commission, 2000). Investments in these anchor institutions produce ripple effects that reverberate across their communities, states, and ultimately the nation.
OMBI works to advance digital equity through three pillars to expand Internet access, promote digital literacy skills, and recommend how to leverage investment in infrastructure. These pillars create the conditions for economic growth and opportunity for all communities. The CAA1 1directs OMBI to:
OMBI collaborates with: 1) Federal agencies that carry out broadband Internet access service support programs; 2) State, local and Tribal governments; 3) historically Black colleges or universities, Tribal Colleges or Universities, Minority Serving Institutions; and, 4) Stakeholders in the communications, education, business, and technology fields. Through these collaborations, OMBI facilitates knowledge sharing and thought leadership to improve Internet access and adoption among minority communities. OMBI’s collaborations promote initiatives relating to broadband Internet access service connectivity and digital opportunities of anchor communities; develop recommendations to promote the rapid, expanded deployment of broadband Internet access service to unserved, HBCUs, TCUs, MSIs, and anchor communities; and, promote activities that would accelerate the adoption of broadband Internet access service including equipment or personnel necessary to access and use the service.
OMBI provides technical assistance to empower applicants, grantees, and collaborating entities with the appropriate tools and resources to promote professional development opportunity partnerships. OMBI supports HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs to leverage investment in broadband Internet infrastructure to expand access for HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs; to engage minority communities in cultivating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity for all communities; and to support their navigation of federal programs dealing with broadband Internet access.
OMBI provides funding for Internet access, technology, and personnel in an effort to close the digital divide at HBCU, TCU, and MSI anchor institutions and within their communities. The CMC Pilot Program grants are currently in the post award phase, providing technical assistance and programmatic oversight of the awards. The funding from this grant program was made on a rolling basis, awarding $268 million in grants to 93 anchor institutions including: 43 Historically Black Colleges and Universities, 31 Hispanic Serving Institutions, 21 Minority Serving Institutions, and 5 Tribal Colleges and Universities.
This report discusses OMBI’s work over the last year to promote equitable broadband access and adoption, and its efforts to connect HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs, along with their anchor communities, to high-speed, affordable, reliable Internet and increase the digital skills of individuals within anchor communities.
Indicators of Digital Use
Access to affordable, reliable, high-speed internet
Home Internet Connection
1 in 5
1 in 5 American households aren’t connected to the Internet.
Modern Life
20%
20% of Americans are not able to fully participate in modern life.
Internet subscriptions and device usage
Use by income
50%
50% of people with family incomes below $25,000 annually lived in households with both fixed and mobile connections.
80%
80% of people with family incomes greater than $100,000 annually lived in households with both fixed and mobile connections.
At home use by ethnicity
78%
78% Whites
70%
70% Hispanics
71%
71% Blacks
Devise type & purpose
PC or tablet
71% White Non-Hispanics
52% Native Americans
57% Black Americans
54% Hispanics
75%
75% of college students enrolled in at least one online course in 2020.
Digital skills
31%
31% of currently employed American workers ages 16-64 have no or limited digital skills.
1 See page 10 for relevant excerpt of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.
Sources:
National Telecommunications and Information Administration. (2021). Internet Use Survey. NTIA Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics. (2017). Highlights of the 2017 U.S. 75% of college students enrolled in at least one online course in 2020.
PIAAC Results Web Report (NCES 2020-777)
U.S. Department of Education
Hecker, I., & Briggs, A. (2021, January). Overlooked and Underconnected. Urban Institute.